Over 300 million US citizens use covered or non-covered household containers withholding unpleasant odors resulting from everyday life situations or just stale environment. Various receptacles, such as baskets/hampers, diaper pales, storage containers, are used to store and transport dirty and soiled articles or clothing, for later disposal or cleaning. Many of these receptacles are typically is made of hard, non-flexible materials, and in various sizes and shapes. The receptacles commonly have a pivoting lid to prevent unsightly appearance as well as to contain malodorous odors. However, conventional lids or tops only stifle the smell temporarily by covering them up, and do not address the foul odors generated in the receptacle or the released odors lingering in the air after each use of the receptacle.
Various compounds found in body wastes contribute to odors, also known as malodors, such as triethylamine, pyridine, furaldehyde, isovaleric acid, and n-propyl sulfide, as noted by Weber, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,686), along with E-3-methyl-2-hexenoic acid (E-3M2H) and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-hexanoic acid (HMHA), sulfanylalkanols and, 3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3M3SH), androstenone (5α-androst-16-en-3-one) and androstenol (5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol), that are broken down into organic acids, aldehydes, ketones, mercaptans, methanethiol, ammonia, and indoles. Various bacterial and microbiota possess lipases that break down fats into butyric acid, or other enzymes that break down amino acids into propionic acid.
The problems associated with obnoxious odors from these devices are similarly are well known. For example, while a lid or covering may temporally trap the smell in the receptacles, each time a lid cover is elevated and return back down from a receptacle, a foul odor is release which lingers in the air; especially in instances where items are stored for 3-4 days and where the articles consist of dirty, moist laundry, smoky laundry, or soiled diapers. Moreover, residential or commercial receptacles can leave an awful lingering smell up to 75 feet from the receptacle station, depending on the level of odor. The odors emanating from such receptacles oftentimes attract insects or rodents, resulting in unsanitary conditions.
Attempts have been made to conceal or reduce and eliminate odors from baskets/hampers, diaper pales, storage containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,074 to Conwawy, et al. discloses a hamper design allowing air flow to reduce moisture from clothing and thereby reduce odors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,960 to Mucci, et al. provides a flexible sheet having odor absorbing granules are bonded to the surface of the sheet using adhesive. Similarly, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/969,051 to Wang discloses an ozone-generating device which is used to break down and eliminate organic odors, such as those associated with such containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,140 to Sidney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,110 to Shaw, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,228 to Oscar, et al. disclose devices that hold deodorant in a receptacle to reduce odors, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,661 to Lundquist discloses a receptacle having deodorant applied to the lid. U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,590 to Tupper discloses a scent dispenser to mask the odor with scents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,686 to Weber, et al. discloses odor-absorbing porous materials, such as zeolite, mixed with an alkaline salt or alkaline earth oxide particulate, for removing odors. The odor-absorbing materials can also include activated carbon, activated silica gel, polymeric absorbent materials, molecular sieves, ion exchange resins and other carbonaceous absorbent materials. Weber, et al. also discloses incorporating the zeolite into fibers of the matrix by mixing the zeolite with low-melting thermoplastic synthetic material in a molten state, forming strands by pressurizing the molten synthetic material, and preparing textile from the strands. The odor-absorbing materials can be fixed in a base web matrix. Compounds useful for mixing the odor-absorbing materials in the matrix include water-emulsion asphaltic-type of adhesives, synthetic resinous or latex base adhesives and plasticizers.
However, these prior solutions have not fulfilled the need to eliminate odors from baskets, hampers, diaper pales, storage containers.